Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world.

The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

Just as the wise do not take a mirage to be water, nor an echo to be a voice, so the enlightened do not take the world to be real.

The dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither excess nor deficiency. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention.

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

The goal of the Buddhist path is not to add something to our existence but to discover something that has been there all along.

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

The mind is like a wild monkey, jumping here and there. But through meditation, we learn to see whatever arises in our mind with more spaciousness and clarity.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

The teaching is simple: act with kindness and compassion. If you cannot do this, at least try not to harm others.

Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

Our task is not to seek for love but to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

Few among men are they who cross to the further shore. The others merely run up and down the bank on this side.

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.